ABSA did WHAT?!

On ABSA’s New Logo

Naturally perplexed and resistant to Big Brand Changes – as we all are – we had a wobble for a minute.

Why? All South Africans are familiar with the bank’s corporate identity, but now they present a brand-new logo with almost no recognisable comparisons to the old logo – except for the colour red.

It was an excellent decision to retain the colour, as therein lies the heart of this bank’s identity! However, it’s not just one shade of red that will be linked to the bank – ABSA now boasts an African theme running through the new branding and a whole host of warm colours being included … and we love it!

We also like the “outline”-style logo. It is modern and in line with the global sustainability trend, leaving a lighter footprint with regards to printing and screen energy use. In fact, the logo was inspired by the word “digital”, being both App and Icon focused. These decisions (in our opinion) were great!

Our concerns?

We feel they did not use a long enough transition period for consumers to get used to the re-brand and that might cause a lot of confusion and resistance initially. But, because of their size and track record, they will probably get away with this big, brave and gutsy re-branding exercise. Studies have shown that a sudden rebrand gets more attention, so we surmise that this was intentional – opting for a big bang rather than a gradual shift.